No Batteries Required - Wind Up Universal Remote Control

Can You imagine, Remote Control Will Work even without a battery. But having a remote that winds up to charge the battery is the best idea yet. How many batteries have your various remotes killed over the years. And it’s a pain replacing them. Some are AA some are AAA. Sometimes you only have one good battery and the thing takes two!

But Wind Up Remote Control, a handy device with completely battery free remote control so there are no batteries to replace, ever!

Just wind the dial and 30 full turns is enough to provide a full charge, which should last you about a week. Supposedly it works with hundreds of brands, including Samsung, Sony, Phillips, Panasonic so it should have you covered. It costs $39 but will pay for itself quickly by never needing batteries.

In near future you may say goodbye to batteries!

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World's Smallest GSM Mobile Phone - China's Xun Chi 138

The race for the World's Smallest GSM Mobile phone with entrants from Motorola, Samsung, Haier and NEC though the war still wages on, Now One Chinese Mobile Manufacturer also Join the race. Now as on the available data's World's Smallest GSM Mobile Phone is from China's Xun Chi 138.

The Xun Chi 138 is a GSM with bar form factor it measures only 67 mm (2.64 inches) in length a bit longer than the AA battery and weighs only 55 grams.

If you thought this was impressive & sure you will be blown away when you check out what this baby packs inside. As with the tiny size it is impossible for a keypad so the Xun Chi 138 has touchscreen with handwriting recognition and support for 260k colors.

The manufacturer has still found space to squeeze in a 1.3 Megapixel camera (actually VGA but interpolated to 1.3 Megapixel), USB port, WAP, GPRS, MP3 player and 138 MB of onboard memory. Maybe the next model will have a Mini SD card slot and Bluetooth.

The Xun Chi 138 is more like a chic phone as it comes in pink color. The stylus neatly fits at the back of the phone. Dont expect the phone to hit the West anytime soon as the Xun Chi 138 supports only Chinese character recognition for now. But it will work in many countries accross the globe.

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World's First Bio-Degradable USB Drive - From Hoshino

Most of the gadgets that we use right now will be tossed away within a few years and probably end up in a landfill somewhere. That’s why it’s nice to see that at least some companies are looking at biodegradable gadgets.

Hong Kong-based Hoshino announced the release of what it's designated "The World's First Bio-degradable USB disk." The USB keys are corn based. The corn is fermented into a material called polylactide (PLA), which, unlike the plastics traditionally used for these devices, can be safely broken .

The key is also shaped like an ear of corn, so you can acknowledge your own greenness, every time you go to retrieve information. Limited information only available about this device, but they have apparently made the entire drive biodegradable and obviously corny design, that’s good news.

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Midori - Microsoft's Next OS after Windows

Microsoft begins phasing out Windows XP by no longer providing copies of the operating system to PC makers and retailers for preloading on new machines from 2008 June 30 . It’s also a good day to start looking ahead to what comes next — after Windows. Midori is the next thing after Windows from MS. Eric Rudder heads this project, attempt to realize Gates’ vision of a truly object-oriented, distributed operating system.

Microsoft has started a new research project Midori, to develop a software program that will help uncouple Windows from a single PC. The company has revealed that a decision to develop Midori was taken because Windows is unlikely to be able to cope with the pace of change in future technology, and the way people use it.

"If you think about how an operating system is loaded, it's loaded onto a hard disk physically located on that machine. The operating system is tied very tightly to that hardware," the BBC quoted Dave Austin, European director of products at Citrix, as saying.

He said that that created all kinds of dependencies that arose out of the collection of hardware in a particular machine, and raised concerns for Microsoft's business in case Windows ends up being less important over time as applications become more OS agnostic.

A statement issued by Microsoft describes Midori as an ambitious attempt by Microsoft to catch up on the work on virtualisation being undertaken in the wider computer industry. Microsoft has said little about Midori and isn't commenting publicly on the project. But company research documents confirm that the project exists and is related to a public project called Singularity -- under which Microsoft developers are creating a slimmed down OS for use in the research community.

During a recent talk on a software tool called Chess, which is designed to check the status of programs that run in multithreaded architectures, Microsoft researchers Madan Musuvathi and Shaz Qadeer made reference to Midori by name in a PowerPoint presentation, documents show. In one slide, the researchers describe Midori as "OS in managed code." Midori, if it makes its way to the market, could solve a number of problems for Microsoft. The current version of Windows, known as Vista, has been poorly received by IT managers. Many view it as too large and resource hungry, and too desktop-centric, for an era in which much of business computing's heavy lifting is migrating to the Web.

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Now Tatas set to launch Air Car with MDI Tech

With Shooting Fuel Prices, Global warming of Environment are hitting economies eco-friendly cars are ruling the day. One such car which uses compressed air as fuel is the "Air Car." French Based company "Moteur Development International" (MDI) has researched and developed a concept callled Compressed Air Technology (CAT). In this technology they developed an Air Car Called Mini C.A.T .

Tata Motors, India's largest automobile company, has signed an agreement with MDI for application in India of MDI's engine technology, and believes the engine is viable - It's press statement describes it as "efficient, cost-effective, scalable, and capable of other applications such as power generation". The MiniCAT could cost around $ 8177 in India and would have a range of around 300 km between refuels.

The cost of a refill would be about $ 2. Although there is no official word on when the car will be manufactured in India, report says it will be sooner than later. Tata motors will also launch the world's cheapest car, Tata Nano for $2500 by October, in India. The MiniC.A.T which is a simple, light urban car, with a tubular chassis that is glued not welded and a body of fibreglass powered by compresed air. Microcontrollers are used in every device in the car, so one tiny radio transmitter sends instructions to the lights, indicators etc.

There are no keys - just an access card which can be read by the car from your pocket. Most importantly, it is incredibly cost-efficient. According to the designers, it costs less than one Euro per 100Km (about a tenth that of a petrol car). Its mileage is about double that of the most advanced electric car (200 to 300 km or 10 hours of driving), a factor which makes a perfect choice in cities where the 80% of motorists drive at less than 60Km. The car has a top speed of 68 mph. Refilling the car will, once the market develops, take place at adapted petrol stations to administer compressed air. In two or three minutes, and at a cost of approximately $2.3, the car will be ready to go another 200-300 kilometres.

As a viable alternative, the car carries a small compressor which can be connected to the mains (220V or 380V) and refill the tank in 3-4 hours. Due to the absence of combustion and, consequently, of residues, changing the oil (1 litre of vegetable oil) is necessary only every 50,000Km.] The temperature of the clean air expelled by the exhaust pipe is between 0-15 degrees below zero, which makes it suitable for use by the internal air conditioning system with no need for gases or loss of power.

Zero Pollution Motors(ZPM) expects to produce the world's first air-powered car for the United States by late 2009 or early 2010. As the US licensee for Luxembourg-based MDI, which developed the Air Car, ZPM has attained rights to build the first of several modular plants, which are likely to begin manufacturing in the Northeast and grow for regional production around the country. And while ZPM is also licensed to build MDI's two-seater OneCAT economy model (the one headed for India) and three-seat MiniCAT (like a SmartForTwo without the gas), the New Paltz, NY, startup is aiming bigger, company officials want to make the first air-powered car to hit US roads a $17,800, 75-hp equivalent, six-seat modified version of MDI's CityCAT that is said to travel as far as 1000 miles at up to 96 mph with each tiny fill-up. Another car gaining popularity because of its features is the Mercedes-Benz Smart.

To date, over 900,000 smart vehicles have been sold in 36 other countries throughout the world. In January 2008, the United States became the 37th country to sell the Smart Fortwo. The models available in the United States are the smart fortwo pure coupe (entry-level), the smart fortwo passion coupe (well-equipped) and the smart fortwo passion cabriolet (well-equipped convertible). The smart fortwo ranges from $11,590 to $16,590. The most fascinating feature is that one can book this car for just $99.

The top speed of the smart fortwo is 90 mph (Electronically limited). Protecting the environment, energy efficiency and preservation of natural resources are hallmarks of smart brand. For example; only water-soluble paints are used for the Smart's three basic colors - black, white and yellow. Painting of the tridion safety cell is done by the powder-coating process. This removes the need for solvents.

The body panels with molded-in color are fully recyclable. Environmental management is a high priority. Smart is dedicated to protecting the environment with future focused recycling and an environmental policy that makes a strong statement.

The smart fortwo is also classified as an Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) on account of its extremely low exhaust emissions. The catalytic converter is positioned close to the engine for a quick response. An electric pump blows fresh air into the exhaust port when the engine is cold to almost completely oxidize the carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) and render them harmless.

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Modu - World's Lightest Mobile Phone

Modu Mobiles - Israeli modular mobile manufacturer has announced that they are the proud producer of the world's lightest mobile phone.

Mobile Phone with the weight of 1.41 ounces ( 40.1grams ) and dimensions are 72.1 mm (2.8 inches) x 37.6 mm (1.4 inches) x 7.8 mm (0.3 inches).

Modu launched its quirky and 'modular' mobile at Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona, Spain in February 2008.

A Offical Press Release stated that, Modu was awarded this prestigious honour after careful consideration by the Guinness World Record judges, who declared that: 'The lightest mobile phone is the Modu, which weighs 40.1grams (1.41oz).

"Throughout the design process of Modu, the emphasis has been on keeping the phone small, light and compact in order that Modu's innovative approach could be realized. The result is a phone that is not only miniature, but also superbly designed and minimalist, whilst offering all the functions and capabilities of a normal-sized handset," the release continues.

Modu's partners includes Bee-Line (VimpelCom), Cellcom, Telecom Italia, Blaupunkt, Magellan Navigation Inc, SanDisk, Card Guard, Tele Atlas, Universal Music Group, WorldMate, Amphenol, ChiMei, In4Tel, Texas Instruments, Renesas, RiTdisplay, SKY MobileMedia and Varta.
More On Modu

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Now Camera Looks through Your Clothing

Now A camera that can see under clothing from 25 metres has been invented. All objects emit Terahertz Radiation ( Even explosives, drugs and hidden weapons ) that can be detected. The ThruVision system could be deployed at airports, railway stations or other public spaces. It is based on so-called "terahertz", or T-ray, technology, normally used by astronomers to study dying stars.

Although it is able to see through clothes it does not reveal "body detail" or subject people to "harmful radiation", according to the designers. "It is totally and utterly passive - it receives only," said a spokesperson for Thruvision.

The portable camera, which has already been sold to the Dubai Mercantile Exchange and Canary Wharf in London, will be shown off at the Home Office scientific development branch's annual exhibition later this week.

Unlike current security systems that use X-rays, the ThruVision system exploits terahertz rays, or T-rays. This electromagnetic radiation is a form of low level energy emitted by all people and objects. These are able to pass through clothing, paper, ceramics and wood but are blocked by metal and water.

The system works by collecting these waves and processing them to form an image which can reveal concealed objects. "If I were to look at you in terahertz you would appear to glow like a light bulb and different objects glow less brightly or more brightly," said the firm's pokesperson. "You see a silhouette of the form but you don't see surface anatomical effects."

In addition, the system does not involve any of the "harmful radiation associated with traditional X-ray security screening", according to the firm. The company has made previous versions of the camera, but the T5000, as it is known, is the first that works both indoors and out.

The system exploits technology originally developed at the government owned Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) in Oxfordshire. "Astronomers use T-ray cameras that can see through dust and clouds in space, revealing what lies beyond," explained Dr Liz Towns-Andrews, of the Science and Technology Facilities Council which runs RAL. Other terahertz systems, developed by companies such as TeraView, are used to probe the structure of pharmaceutical compounds.

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Power Your Mobile with Fuel Cell

Japanese mobile giant KDDI displays a prototype of a Hitachi mobile powered by a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC).

The technology — which draws energy from the chemical reaction when hydrogen combines with oxygen to form water — is more commonly seen in futuristic cars with tanks of hydrogen instead of gasoline, whose combustion is a key culprit in pollution and global warming.

Developers say fuel cells for homes produce one-third less of the pollution that causes global warming than conventional electricity generation does.

The oxygen that the fuel cell uses comes from the air. The hydrogen is extracted from natural gas by a device called a reformer in the same box as the fuel cell.

But a byproduct of that process is poisonous carbon monoxide. So another machine in the grey box adds oxygen to the carbon monoxide to create carbon dioxide, which — though it contributes to global warming — is not poisonous.

Developments:

East Japan Railway Company has researched and developed a fuel cell system for railcars as an independent type motive power system that reduces the burden on the global environment and can also overcome the problem of exhaustion of fossil fuels. The company is developing of the world’s first fuel cell hybrid railcar. Development of railcar system technology that uses fuel cells is also being promoted to utilize future breakthroughs in fuel cell technology.

How Fuel Cell Works:
Hydrogen stored in a tank aboard the train is supplied to the fuel cells, where it reacts with oxygen to produce electricity. Unused electricity and electricity generated during braking is stored in a secondary battery, which is used as an auxiliary power source. In addition to being energy-efficient, hydrogen fuel cells emit no carbon dioxide, only water.

From BBC

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Browse Web even Offline

Internet firm Webaroo has launched a service that allows people to search parts of the web on their laptops or mobile devices without needing a connection to the internet. The software works by downloading sections of the internet to a portable device. Webaroo's servers then scour the internet to create relevant packs of information from which users can choose.

"Once you download web packs or websites onto your mobile device, you can search them anytime, anywhere without a connection," said a statement on the Webaroo website.

The company provides packs on topics including news and sports, as well as information on major cities such as London and New York.

"As mobile use grows, consumers want to be able to do more with their mobile devices," said Webaroo chief executive Rakesh Mathur. "At home or on the go, in the air or on vacation, users can now find the information they need wherever they are."

The downside is that users are unable to view live information as the packs update only when a user syncs their mobile device with an internet-connected machine. Webaroo already has one major fan in PC maker Acer, which plans to bundle the software with its range of laptops.

"Acer believes that this new, powerful ability to search the web offline will bring tremendous advantages for consumers and business people," said Campbell Kan, head of Acer's mobile computing business unit.

The Webaroo software is currently free to use and that firm plans to raise revenue in the future by including targeted adverts. Download Here

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Now mPay follows mChek

mPay - Mobile Credit Card for Reliance Mobile Users
Reliance Communications and HDFC Bank have come together to offer India’s first virtual credit card to Reliance users possessing HDFC Bank credit cards. The Reliance mPay credit card allows users to make postpaid bill payments, get pre-paid top-up, and pay Reliance Energy monthly electricity bills. Users can also book movie tickets, travel tickets, make payments at shops and restaurants, and shop on the Internet.
To make payments, customers need to use the PIN issued for using the virtual credit card. All transactions are initiated using the registered mobile number to which the mPay service has been issued. The mPay credit card can be used with HDFC Bank at any merchant establishment that accepts payment via Reliance mPay.
Users don’t need to enter a crecit card number or card verification value (CVV) or expiry date to use the mPay service. HDFC Bank would authenticate all the information with RCom, which would then be used to initiate and authorize all payments using customers’ mobile handsets.
http://www.m-pay.com/

India's mChek Wins GSMA Award

mChek, an Indian company focused on mobile security and payments services, has announced that its mChek on Airtel postpaid bill payment service has won the GSMA Global Mobile Award 2008 for Best Billing and Customer Care Solution with Airtel at the 13 th Annual GSM Association Global Mobile Awards 2008 at Barcelona.
mChek on Airtel was chosen as the winner by a global panel of eminent jurors from leading market research and consultancy firms, including Accenture, Forrester Research, the Yankee Group and Ovum which said " For all those who thought mobile commerce was a pipe dream, mChek on Airtel, has just shown the way to do it. The cashless society is here and it's gone mobile ."
“The GSMA Global Mobile Awards is one of the most prestigious international awards and the fact that mChek has won underscores the uniqueness and innovation in our service.” said Sanjay Swamy, CEO, mChek. “We are delighted by the success and consumer response to the service and look forward to expanding the footprint of mChek services in the coming months.”
The GSM Association (GSMA) is the global trade association representing more than 700 GSM mobile phone operators across 218 countries and territories of the world. In addition, more than 200 manufacturers and suppliers support the Association's initiatives as key partners. The primary goals of the GSMA are to ensure mobile phones and wireless services work globally and are easily accessible, enhancing their value to individual customers and national economies, while creating new business opportunities for operators and their suppliers. The Association's members serve more than 2.5 billion customers - 85% of the world's mobile phone users.
The mChek on Airtel mobile payments service today has more than 60,000 transacting customers with an impressive 90% repeat usage pattern, and has processed more than 100 Million Rupees of mobile payments since its launch in September 2007. mChek has also at present entered into strategic partnerships with VISA, Citi India, ICICI Bank, Corporation Bank and e-commerce merchants like MakeMyTrip, Yatra, Indiatimes, FutureBazaar and SifyMall to enable safe, smart and simple mobile payments. In Sri Lanka, mChek has tied up with Dialog Telekom and NDB Bank enabling secure payments ranging from utility bills/pre-paid top-ups, over-the-counter and remote commerce, and mobile banking.
In the near future, mChek plans to further simplify payment processes for consumers by introducing utility bill payments, movie ticketing and various other innovative services.

The mChek service is currently available to customers on AIRTEL in India and Dialog Telekom in Sri Lanka. http://www.mchek.com/

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Fuel Cell - Uses Bacteria To Generate Electricity

Researchers at the Biodesign Institute are using the tiniest organisms on the planet -- bacteria -- as a viable option to make electricity. In a new study featured in the journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering, lead author Andrew Kato Marcus and colleagues Cesar Torres and Bruce Rittmann have gained critical insights that may lead to commercialization of a promising microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology.

"We can use any kind of waste, such as sewage or pig manure, and the microbial fuel cell will generate electrical energy," said Marcus, a Civil and Environmental Engineering graduate student and a member of the institute's Center for Environmental Biotechnology. Unlike conventional fuel cells that rely on hydrogen gas as a fuel source, the microbial fuel cell can handle a variety of water-based organic fuels.
"There is a lot of biomass out there that we look at simply as energy stored in the wrong place," said Bruce Rittmann, director of the center. "We can take this waste, keeping it in its normal liquid form, but allowing the bacteria to convert the energy value to our society's most useful form, electricity. They get food while we get electricity."

Bacteria have such a rich diversity that researchers can find a bacterium that can handle almost any waste compound in their daily diet. By linking bacterial metabolism directly with electricity production, the MFC eliminates the extra steps necessary in other fuel cell technologies. "We like to work with bacteria, because bacteria provide a cheap source of electricity," said Marcus.
There are many types of MFC reactors and research teams throughout the world. However, all reactors share the same operating principles. All MFCs have a pair of battery-like terminals: an anode and cathode electrode. The electrodes are connected by an external circuit and an electrolyte solution to help conduct electricity. The difference in voltage between the anode and cathode, along with the electron flow in the circuit, generate electrical power.
In the first step of the MFC, an anode respiring bacterium breaks down the organic waste to carbon dioxide and transfers the electrons released to the anode. Next, the electrons travel from the anode, through an external circuit to generate electrical energy. Finally, the electrons complete the circuit by traveling to the cathode, where they are taken up by oxygen and hydrogen ions to form water.
The matrix:
"We knew that the MFC process is relatively stable, but one of the biggest questions is: How do the bacteria get the electrons to the anode?" said Marcus. The bacteria depend on the anode for life. The bacteria at the anode breathe the anode, much like people breathe air, by transferring electrons to the anode. Because bacteria use the anode in their metabolism, they strategically position themselves on the anode surface to form a bacterial community called a biofilm.
Bacteria in the biofilm produce a matrix of material so that they stick to the anode. The biofilm matrix is rich with material that can potentially transport electrons. The sticky biofilm matrix is made up of a complex of extracellular proteins, sugars, and bacterial cells. The matrix also has been shown to contain tiny conductive nanowires that may help facilitate electron conduction.
"Our numerical model develops and supports the idea that the bacterial matrix is conductive," said Marcus. In electronics, conductors are most commonly made of materials like copper that make it easier for a current to flow through . "In a conductive matrix, the movement of electrons is driven by the change in the electrical potential." Like a waterfall, the resulting voltage drop in the electrical potential pushes the flow of electrons.
The treatment of the biofilm matrix as a conductor allowed the team to describe the transport of electrons driven by the gradient in the electrical potential. The relationship between the biofilm matrix and the anode could now be described by a standard equation for an electrical circuit, Ohm's law.
Within the MFC is a complex ecosystem where bacteria are living within a self-generated matrix that conducts the electrons. "The whole biofilm is acting like the anode itself, a living electrode," said Marcus. "This is why we call it the 'biofilm anode.'"
Life at the Jolt:
The concept of the 'biofilm anode' allowed the team to describe the transport of electrons from bacteria to the electrode and the electrical potential gradient. The importance of electrical potential is well known in a traditional fuel cell, but its relevance to bacterial metabolism has been less clear. The next important concept the team had to develop was to understand the response of bacteria to the electrical potential within the biofilm matrix.
Bacteria will grow as long as there is an abundant supply of nutrients. Jacques Monod, one of the founding fathers of molecular biology, developed an equation to describe this relationship. While the team recognized the importance of the Monod equation for bacteria bathed in a rich nutrient broth, the challenge was to apply the Monod equation to the anode, a solid.
Previous studies have shown that the rate of bacterial metabolism at the anode increases when the electrical potential of the anode increases. The researchers could now think of the electrical potential as fulfilling the same role as a bacterial nutrient broth. The team recognized that the electrical potential is equivalent to the concentration of electrons; and the electrons are precisely what the bacteria transfer to the anode.
Equipped with this key insight, the team developed a new model, the Nernst-Monod equation, to describe the rate of bacterial metabolism in response to the "concentration of electrons" or the electrical potential.
Promise meeting potential:
In their model, the team identified three crucial variables to controlling an MFC: the amount of waste material (fuel), the accumulation of biomass on the anode, and the electrical potential in the biofilm anode. The third factor is a totally novel concept in MFC research.
"Modeling the potential in the biofilm anode, we now have a handle on how the MFC is working and why. We can predict how much voltage we get and how to maximize the power output by tweaking the various factors," said Marcus. For example, the team has shown that the biofilm produces more current when the biofilm thickness is at a happy medium, not too thick or thin.
"If the biofilm is too thick," said Marcus, "the electrons have to travel too far to get to the anode. On the other hand, if the biofilm is too thin, it has too few bacteria to extract the electrons rapidly from the fuel."
To harvest the benefits of MFCs, the research team is using its innovative model to optimize performance and power output. The project, which has been funded by NASA and industrial partners OpenCEL and NZLegacy, lays out the framework for MFC research and development to pursue commercialization of the technology.

Sources: Science Daily

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